In case you might be thinking about a book to give to someone in your life who is a book lover, THIS is the book for you! Or for her/him.

The Library Book – I bought my copy at Costco, but so I hear, it’s mostly sold out already. I’m glad I have the hard copy. It’s a book I want in my personal collection.

Back in 1986, the main library in downtown Los Angeles nearly burned to the ground. It was a catastrophic event. As thousands of books burned, microfiche files, precious collections, people from all over were affected. The day after the fire, with smoke still eddying from here and there, hundreds of people (not experts, not fire authority employees, just ordinary people who wanted to help) came to the library and with thousands of books at peril from smoke or water damage (mold) people lined up and thousands of books were packed into boxes and carted to places all over the city. Some into restaurant refrigerators or purveyor’s walk-ins (to keep mold from forming) and others just to have a place to keep them until the city could figure out what to do. I smiled at the thought of boxes of books sharing the shelves with leeks and tomatoes, saffron and cream.

Susan Orlean, the author of The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession (Ballantine Reader’s Circle) has written an amazing book about the library fire. From nearly the first page I was taken in with Orlean’s lyrical writing, her adept use of words and phrases, conjuring up the devastation, the fire itself, and the aftermath. And the mind of the man who allegedly started the fire, Harry Peak. Never convicted of the crime, even his mostly wasted life is explored in this book.

You might think, what could I possibly learn from reading a book about a fire? But this was no ordinary fire since tens of thousands of books burned, countless thousands more suffered severe damage from the smoke and/or water. You’ll learn all about how fire works – the physics of fire and what it can do it an old-old building like the library. And you’ll learn about all of the various one-of-a-kind collections the library had. Many now gone.

You’ll learn about the employees, who all survived the fire. The library had periodic fire false alarms –  everyone went outside until the fire department came to explain about yet another false alarm. But this time it was for real, and the heartbreak was palpable as everyone watched the library go up in fire, smoke and water.

Many years ago I was privileged to take a tour of the Los Angeles Central Library – after it was rebuilt. It’s very impressive. As is this book.

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Oh so delicious – a drink made with Prosecco, a bit of Amaretto and citrus. And the glass rims pressed into zested sugar.

A sour – what is it? As I learned when I searched on the ‘net, they’re a whole family of cocktails – with somewhat the same combination – an alcohol, or two, some sweet and some sour. The trick being the balance of sweet to sour. Ideally, you’d serve this with a cherry in it, maybe, or a slice of lemon or lime. As I was looking around at various recipes for an amaretto sour, I discovered a brand of top-notch cherries used in libations – called Luxardo, Gourmet Cocktail Maraschino Cherries 400G Jar. Just now I’ve added it to my amazon wish list. They’re pricey. But as I read comments from people at amazon who bought them, everyone raves about them. One commenter shared a long conversation about how his wife keeps dipping into his precious jar of Luxardo cherries and eats them straight. They had “words.” She doesn’t want to have one of the cocktails with her husband, she just wants the cherries (if you click on the link above, scroll down to the comments and you can read the very amusing comment). So now he adds 2 extra to each drink he makes for himself and she gets to have the extras cherries. Someone else said they add up to about $.35 apiece.

This recipe, from a cooking class with Phillis Carey, however, uses a slightly different combination of ingredients:

• simple syrup (common, but this one contains a more sugar-to-water ratio)
• lemon and lime zest
• fresh lemon juice
• Prosecco
• Amaretto

Did I love this drink? Oh, yes, absolutely. I think I could drink one of these every evening if given the opportunity. On the diet I’m on, the simple syrup would not fit, but it’s not like you’re getting all that much sugar. Perhaps I could try it with one of the fake sugars. I’ve recently tried and really like Swerve Sweetner Granular. Swerve makes a confectioner’s type and regular granular. It tastes more like regular sugar than any substitute I’ve tried, and I’ve tried many. I don’t cook much with sugar at all anymore – occasionally I’ll use a tiny jot of maple syrup in something savory. I don’t bake unless I’m having guests, and then I send all the remaining dessert home with my guests. Phillis gave me a recipe a week or so ago for both a flatbread (made with almond meal) and a chocolate mug dessert, and both are zero or near zero carbs. Haven’t tried them yet, but I will.

So back to this recipe. First you need to make the simple syrup that has double the sugar to water. Cool it and chill. You’ll need some fresh squeezed lemon juice, the zests, as I mentioned above, a bottle of chilled Prosecco (so you’d want to make this when you’re having guests), your handy Disaronno Amaretto on hand and either citrus slices to garnish OR those cherries above. Mix it up in a pitcher and pour the drinks over ice, but into glasses that you’ve rubbed with lemon juice then dipped into sugar and the zests. So very refreshing.

What’s GOOD: the umami flavor of the sweet to sour. I enjoy Amaretto, but can’t say that I’ve had any (straight as an after dinner drink) for years and years. But in this drink. Oh yes!! The drink is incredibly refreshing, and very fancy with the sugared glass rims. Make it in a pitcher for a group. I can’t wait – am thinking about making this for Thanksgiving. You’ve got to make these, okay?

What’s NOT: only that there are a few steps – making the simple syrup, chilling it – juicing and zesting. The rest is easy peasy.

printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook 15/16 file (click link to open recipe)

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Pure chocolate heaven. This was likely the BEST flourless chocolate cake (torte) I’ve ever had. Does that motivate you to try making it? It’s VERY easy.

The leftovers of this are in my freezer. I simply HAD to package them up and put them away or I’d have been eating a little wedge of this every day until it was gone. As it is, I have 2 servings in 2 packages. Perfect for when my cousin comes to visit and he’ll be happy that I’ve made something for him that’s GF.

There are relatively few ingredients in this cake/torte – dark chocolate, eggs, sugar, Kahlua and heavy cream. That’s it. And you don’t have to whip up egg whites, though you do have to whip the cream to soft peaks. All done in a bowl, with a hand mixer if you want to. First, the chocolate is melted in a bowl sitting over slowly simmering water. You need to butter a springform pan and line is with parchment and then butter the parchment.

Then you mix up the eggs, sugar and Kahlua (or other liqueur, or vanilla) until it’s thick – that does take several minutes. Fold in the heavy cream that’s been beaten to soft peaks, then pour it carefully into the springform pan. Bake for 40 minutes or until the center is just barely set (still slightly jiggly). Cool it to room temp, or to a warm temp for sure. Dust top with cocoa powder and garnish it with some sweetened whipped cream and berries. And a little mint sprig if you have one. I convinced myself that I wasn’t consuming all that much more chocolate/sugar than I do daily with my 1-ounce portion of chocolate. I ate a tiny wedge. Oh my.

What’s GOOD: well, if you’re a chocoholic, then this will satisfy every one of your chocolate buttons. It is a dark chocolate – although I suppose if you’re a milk chocolate person you might be able to make it with milk chocolate – not sure about that as there is milk contained in the chocolate which might change the chemistry. But nevertheless, the finished cake does sink some in the middle (which is normal) and you’ll serve very small servings. This cake will serve at least 12 or even more. It’s ultra-rich. So tender it’s like a feather.

What’s NOT: I don’t want to read the nutrition, or lack thereof. But in a small wedge, as it can be served, it shouldn’t be too awful for you!

printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook 15/16 file (click link to open recipe)

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A kind of a salmon salad, but hot salmon, cold relish with arugula or greens underneath.

Vividly, I recall the first time I ate a peppadew pepper. Oh my golly, was I in love. It was at a restaurant in San Diego, and for a week I was on a mission to find them, and eventually I did. Now they’re in lots of places, even Trader Joe’s. Mostly, now, I buy them at an olive bar in one of my local grocery stores because I don’t use them often enough to keep it stocked in my frig. Peppadews are sweet and piquant at the same time. They have little to no heat in them. They add a lovely surprise in your mouth. And they work perfectly with this salmon dish.

First you need to make the Tunisian relish – dried currants (or golden raisins work fine), soaked in hot water to plump them. A cup of green olives chopped (tart type, not ripe), a bunch of the peppadew peppers chopped up, some olive oil and sherry vinegar, salt and pepper, and that’s it. Set that aside to marinate a little bit.

The salmon is marinated in some of the relish for half an hour then grilled. On the plate you combine the greens with the reserved marinade (serves as a dressing here) then divide the salmon amongst your serving plates, spoon any leftover marinade on top and sprinkle on the relish. A one dish meal in my book. From a class with Tarla Fallgatter.

What’s GOOD: the combination of the relish ingredients is sublime. You won’t need a huge serving of this (the salmon, I’m speaking of) because it is served as a salad – so you get some good salad stuff in there too. Loved it.

What’s NOT: nothing really – just the time to mix up the relish, I suppose. I think if you made more of it, it would keep for a week or so – to use on something else. For me, the peppadew peppers make this!

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Does it look like I mixed this salad right on my granite countertop? Uh, no, there’s actually a glass plate in between.

The one thing you need to remember about this recipe is that you cook the small red-skinned potatoes ahead of time, but not quite all the way. Because after that you’re going to grill them. They don’t want to be so tender they’d not hold on the skewer. A vinaigrette is made – using champagne vinegar AND raspberry vinegar, a little honey mustard, fresh basil and olive oil. So delicious all by itself – or on any green salad.

If you’ve still got availability of fresh corn on the cob, do use it, although you can use frozen corn too. Buy some cotija cheese. Cotija is a Mexican dry cheese, crumbly, similar to Feta, so if you can’t buy cotija, use Feta. You need a package of baby spinach too and a red onion. The pre-cooked potatoes are tossed with a little olive oil and they’re threaded onto skewers. The corn is brushed with the same oil  and grilled along with the red onions.

Once the potatoes are done, they get put into a bowl and let them cool some. Add the spinach, cut the corn off the cob, add the onions, toss with vinaigrette and top with the cotija cheese. So good. Recipe came from a cooking class with Tarla Fallgatter.

What’s GOOD: loved the grilled aspects of this salad (potatoes, corn and onion) and really liked the combination in a salad with spinach and the tasty vinaigrette. I didn’t eat the potatoes (a no-no on my diet) and I ate just a couple kernels of the corn (also a no-no) but I gobbled up the onion and spinach in the dressing. Delicious.

What’s NOT: only that you do have to do the grilling soon before serving – you want the grilled stuff still warm.

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Can’t say that I’d ever had gazpacho with watermelon and cucumber. But oh, my, was it ever good.

Hopefully by the time this recipe posts, you’ll still be able to find watermelon in your grocery stores. Because this cold soup is so very refreshing. Maybe for a fall outdoor barbecue? Might be the last.

You begin with about 5 cups of watermelon (buy a seedless one, if possible), diced up. Most of it gets blended until smooth. Pour that out into a bowl. Then the remaining watermelon and the veggies get mixed in – you add a peeled and seeded cucumber, a red bell pepper, a small jalapeno chile pepper, some inner-stalks of celery, some red onion, fresh mint, fresh lime juice, a jot of sherry wine vinegar and salt. Chill and you’re done. Refrigerate for a few hours. Serve with a little dollop of crème fraiche If you’d like. I’d also put a mint leaf on top too (see photo). This recipe came from a cooking class with Tarla Fallgatter.

What’s GOOD: the word refreshing is the best one. Cold. Soothing. Tons of flavor in it. Worth doing. Could be made several hours ahead of time.

What’s NOT: nothing really other than prepping the vegetables. Otherwise, very easy.

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When I read this recipe, I knew I’d be making it soon. A 10-minute dessert? Yes, I’m in.

My evening bible study group has started up again after taking a hiatus for the summer. We kind of abide by the traditional Sept-June school year rotation. I ended up hosting the first two weeks and now we’re trading off amongst all of our homes. So I needed dessert. The first week I made a peach cobbler. An old recipe from my mother’s 3×5 card file. But I didn’t like it that much, so am not posting it here. But the second week I’d read about this lime cracker pie at Food 52 and just knew it’d be something I’d try.

The old-fashioned dessert that uses lemon juice and sweetened condensed milk in a graham cracker crust is updated here using lime juice instead, and layering the rich, creamy mixture with Ritz crackers. I used Trader Joe’s version called Golden Rounds. There at left you can see the ingredients. My limes were big enough that I only used 5, I think it was, to yield 1/2 cup of juice.

First, get out the ceramic or glass dish you’ll use. A 9×9 pan isn’t big enough, so use a ceramic dish larger than that. Meanwhile, you use a big bowl to combine the Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk (not evaporated milk – recipe won’t work with that) and 2 cups of heavy cream. Mix that up with a whisk for a few stirs, then you add in the lime juice and zest. Stir some more and within about 45 seconds the mixture begins to thicken. The lime juice causes a reaction somehow (I don’t know the actual chemistry of it) and it becomes a pudding-like texture.

Scoop out about a cup of the cream into the dish, spread it around, then gently add the crackers all over. See my photo at right. That’s one layer. Just keep layering. (If I did this again, I’d use a smaller dish than the one you see here – it was just slightly too big, in my opinion – it is 11 inches long). End up with a layer of cream on the top.

MAKE AHEAD: This dessert needs at least 2 hours, or preferably overnight refrigeration. What happens is the cream is absorbed into the crackers and it creates a kind-of cake layer. Not exactly, but close. The only thing to do before serving is to grate a bit more lime zest on top. It doesn’t need any other embellishments.

What’s GOOD: well, 10 minutes to make it? It might have taken me 15, but oh my, so easy. The flavor is piquant – the acid from the lime juice mixes with the sweet of the condensed milk. Sublime. Oh, pun there! I ate about 4 bites (quality control, you know) and sent all the rest of it home with my friends so I wouldn’t be tempted.

What’s NOT: it’s very rich. Full of fat, obviously. High calorie. But oh-so easy!

printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook 15/16 file (click link to open recipe)

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You might be of the school of thought that there isn’t any way to make cauliflower edible. This soup might change your mind. Mostly because it’s the parsnips you taste!

In my repertoire of cookbooks (hundreds) I have one book that sits out on a stand in my kitchen. Why that one? Only because I like the cover colors and it fits well on the stand. Not exactly the most admirable of reasons. Yet I like the cookbook – I just don’t visit its pages very often. The other day I noticed that when I’d read through the book I’d put pink stickies on recipes I thought I’d like to make. There are about 10 of them. And this soup was one.

The book, Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes: A Backyard Garden-to-Table Cookbook by Jeanne Kelley, is a treasure trove of relatively simple recipes, done beautifully with photographs and some lovely type fonts (you forget? I love type fonts). As it happened I had both a head of cauliflower AND about a pound of parsnips in my refrigerator. Yes, also I had an onion and a bay leaf. Gee, this soup was easy to make.

An onion was sweated in EVOO, then the parsnips (peeled, chopped) were added, as well as the chunks of cauliflower; 8 cups of water (I used vegetable broth) and a bay leaf and it simmered for about 35 minutes. Once it cooled a little bit I used my new immersion blender and whizzed it up easily enough. I added a little jot of salt. Since it was a hot day when I made this last month, I decided to eat it cold, although Kelley only mentioned serving as a hot soup. I left the pot out on my stove for 2-3 hours while it cooled down, then refrigerated it until dinnertime.

As an aside, I was watching a recent Cook’s Country episode on TV, and they did a test of immersion blenders. Mine is old. And I mean old (at least 35 years) – one of the very earliest models and I’ve never felt it did a very good job, so I splurged and bought a new one. Braun MQ505 Multiquick Hand Blender, Black. Braun makes several models, but this one, the cheapest ($59.95 on amazon) won their kitchen testing. I’ve used it twice in 3 days and am very pleased with it.

The topping called for currants. I didn’t have any, and on my diet I’m not supposed to eat dried fruit, but dates are okay. So I subbed dates for the currants. My kitchen garden has fresh thyme, and I easily toasted up a bunch of pine nuts in a skillet. The author cautions about that – how many times have you burned pine nuts in the oven? Way too many for me, so I, like her, toast mine in a skillet always. At the end you drizzle on a little bit of EVOO. The soup was filling and very tasty.

What’s GOOD: love the flavor – it’s the parsnips that predominate (adding a lovely sweetness), although the cauliflower adds plenty of texture. The garnish made the soup for me – the little crunch of the pine nuts, the thyme adding flavor, and then the minced up dates. Altogether delicious. Next time I’ll make a double batch and freeze some. The recipe makes enough for 4-5 generous dinner-sized portions.

What’s NOT: gee, nothing. Very easy soup to make.

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A lovely relish (or kind of like a salsa) to serve with grilled meat.

Presuming you read my post from yesterday, about the BBQ Chicken, South African Style, then you already know this relish is supposed to be served with that chicken. It came from a cooking show with Sarah Graham, who’s from South Africa. This side/relish is just so different – when I watched the show a couple of years ago I was intrigued with the ingredients . . .

It has some very standard things you’d expect in a relish – onion, a chile pepper, a bell pepper, garlic, even tomatoes. But a bit more unusual is a bunch of grated carrots, some chutney (I used apricot jam), a jot of ketchup. But this one also has a little bit of curry powder (but not really enough to taste it), AND it has a small can of BAKED BEANS in it.

Here’s what wikipedia has to say about it:

Chakalaka is a South African vegetable relish, usually spicy, that is traditionally served with bread, pap, samp, stews, or curries. Chakalaka may have originated in the townships of Johannesburg or on the gold mines surrounding Johannesburg, when Mozambican mineworkers coming off shift cooked tinned produce (tomatoes, beans) with chili to produce a spicy relish with a Portuguese flair to accompany pap. The many variations on how to make Chakalaka often depend on region and family tradition. Some versions include beans, cabbage and butternut. For example, a tin of baked beans, tin of tomatoes, onion, garlic, and some curry paste can be used to make the dish.

In case you’re interested, pap is a kind of cornmeal porridge, and samp is another kind of dried corn variant where the corn kernel shells are removed and then the inner meat made into a porridge type dish. Reading about the history of this dish, it makes so much sense that mine workers had to use canned foods and they discovered a way to make a spicy relish/side from canned tomatoes and baked beans.

The onion, chile, bell pepper and carrots are cooked a little bit (I cooked them VERY little as I wanted crunch) with the onions getting the most amount of cooking time, then you merely add in all the other ingredients. Since I made it I’ve had it alongside the leftover chicken, also some grilled sausages, and some fish. All good with it. I made part of mine without the beans (cuz I’m not eating beans on this diet I’m on), but I DID taste it, and thought the addition of the beans was really good. I was expecting it to not taste good, but it was. I gave away all of the bean relish and kept the part without beans and enjoyed it for a week or so afterwards.

What’s GOOD: it’s unusual, that’s for sure. Liked all the lively flavors in it – because I was having guests I used the lesser quantity of curry powder – I’d likely add more next time. Make ahead is fine, and it keeps for at least a week.

What’s NOT: nothing really . . . it was a really good addition to my potluck dinner to serve with the chicken.

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Just another grilled chicken recipe, but with a South African twist.

The picture at right is Sarah Graham. A cookbook author, writer, and a host of two seasons of a cooking show on the Cooking Channel. She lives in South Africa, and what I loved about her show was the location – she filmed outside and off in the distance behind her outdoor kitchen, were wild animals. You might still be able to find her shows on reruns if you look up Sarah Graham’s Food Safari. When I was watching her show, it was just before and just after I went to Africa and did a couple of weeks of safaris (loved it). I do enjoy listening to South Africans with their very different English accents. So it was with Sarah Graham.

A few recipes from her shows got saved to my to-try file (recipes are still available at the Cooking Channel, I would assume), and this is one of them.

This post is lagging a bit behind – – I made this over Labor Day weekend when I decided I was not going to be sitting home on the holiday Monday doing nothing. So I invited a group of friends over (all widows) and we did a potluck dinner. One friend brought lovely Dutch cheeses and crackers. Another brought a delicious apple crumble pie; yet another a green salad, another a rice, green chile and cheese casserole, and lastly a cold broccoli salad. And I did the main dish (chicken) on the grill. Along with a very unusual relish (that mound of red stuff on the right on the plate at top).

Here’s a photo of our group, from left: Annette, Judy, me, Judy and Mary Lou. Nancy took the photo. It was a gorgeous evening – we had been having lovely weather the last 2 weeks, gearing up, probably for blistering heat we usually have in September and October. I made strawberry gins – I should write up a post about that. My family (well, the ladies of my family) enjoyed them mostly in England, but we also found them in Paris and Florence also. So very refreshing. I found strawberry gin at my local “Total Wine,” but you might have to seek it out. You macerate a strawberry or two in a glass, add the strawberry gin, then top off with tonic. And lots of ice. Then wedge a strawberry on the rim of the glass, add a mint leaf and present!

So, back to the chicken. I’m going to post the relish tomorrow – so DO wait until you get that recipe before you make this. The relish is so unusual and different, but goes perfectly with the chicken. Anyway, the recipe indicates using a spatchcocked chicken (my Trader Joe’s has them fresh) or you can ask a butcher to cut it, or you can cut it yourself. You cut through the backbone (and remove it completely) and flatten out the bird so it can lay flat on the grill. You might have to nip a bit around the breast bone to get it to flatten out. I decided, actually, to cut the bird in half as I thought it would be easier for me to maneuver on the grill. It was a 5 pound bird I bought.

Marinate the chicken overnight – I used a big Ziploc bag – first I added in all the marinade ingredients – oil, balsamic, pourable honey, lemon juice, paprika, dry cilantro, cinnamon, garlic, fresh red chile, and a little jot of ketchup. The next morning I turned the bag over and squished the marinade around (it doesn’t make all that much). About 45 minutes before grilling, take it out of the refrigerator and let it warm a little bit. Meanwhile, fire up the grill.

You might find this hard to believe, but truly I’m a novice or an apprentice (but without a teacher) at the grill. You read this here before, my DH Dave was the grill meister in our house, and I merely told him what I needed him to do – cook to what temp and what the internal temp needed to be. He loved everything about mastering the grill techniques. Me, not so much. Because I’m alone now, when I have to manage or monitor what’s on the grill, I have to leave my guests – although every one of my friends understood why I was up and down checking on the chicken. No way did I want it to overcook!

What’s GOOD: really liked the flavor, and it was super-moist and tender. I first grilled it over high heat, then turned it down to medium and kept checking the internal temp. The skin charred well (see photo at top) but the chicken just below it was juicy.  The relish that went with it was a hit – it’s very unusual. The marinade did give the chicken some flavor, and cooking it with the lid down on the grill gave it some smoky flavor too. Likely you could bake this in the oven easily enough too. Yes, I’d make it again.

What’s NOT: nothing other than needing to start this the day before, to marinate the chicken.

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